colorful hat

Wearing a colourful suit and hat with flowers, this catrín sculpture is dapper. Mexican artisan Juana Ponce creates the ceramic sculpture, painted by hand in the style of Talavera handicrafts. The image of the catrin has strong historical roots in Mexico, originally used as a critique of upper class society.

This lovely little box is created by Mexico's Ivan Martinez in the Talavera tradition. The box and its lid are molded from ceramic before being carefully hand-painted with colourful motifs. It's the perfect place to stash small treasures.

Peachy brown flowers bloom on a yellow garland with green foliage to grace this voluptuous decorative jar and lid. Isabelle Collins works in the style and technique of classic Talavera ceramics to create a colorful ginger jar. This lidded vase is known in Mexico as a tibor; it was brought to Mexico from the Orient by way of the Philippines in the late 1500s.

"We use the same techniques and styles used in 16th-century Puebla. Classic Talavera used only six colors, all of which were natural glazes compounded at home with mineral pigments. We create our homemade paintbrushes using mule hair or horsehair from the mane or tail, according to the thickness desired for our motifs," the artisan confides.

Delicate crosshatch patterns become brown floral tendrils in the style of ancient China, first used in Puebla in the mid-15th century. They adorn a curvaceous decorative jar and lid in subtle beige. Isabelle Collins works in the style and technique of classic Talavera ceramics to create a colorful ginger jar. This lidded vase is known in Mexico as a tibor; it was brought to Mexico from the Orient by way of the Philippines in the late 1500s.

"We use the same techniques and styles used in 16th-century Puebla. Classic Talavera used only six colors, all of which were natural glazes compounded at home with mineral pigments. We create our homemade paintbrushes using mule hair or horsehair from the mane or tail, according to the thickness desired for our motifs," the artisan confides.